Intro to Marketing and Social Media for Museums: Webinar Series

This past spring and summer, I led a series of four webinars for AASLH on the basics of marketing and social media for museums and historic sites.It’s been a busy nine months for me (I moved to Europe!), and I am just now getting around to sharing the recordings in one place! These webinars are idea for staff or dedicated volunteers fom absolute beginner to those who are familiar with social media and comfortable with it in their own lives, but need some guidance in using it to support a museum’s mission.

In all the webinars, I stress that social media and marketing are not a trivial thing to get to if you have time. They should be an integrated part of your museum’s core operations. It’s how you tell the world why they should visit and, perhaps even more importantly, how you can extend your mission beyond your walls.

A disclaimer: social media changes really fast, and a few of the more practical elements of my social media webinars are going to be out-of-date already. However, I intentionally tried to focus more on theory and key ideas so that the bulk of the webinars would remain relevant even as the platforms chance.

Each recorded webinar is $15 for members of AASLH and $15 for nonmembers. The money all goes to AASLH, where it’s put right back into creating more education and services for museums and historic sites in the U.S. I’m using the descriptions from the live webinar event, but do note that the recorded webinars do not have a live Q&A section.

65% of all adults in the U.S. use at least one social media site. From sharing family photos to learning about what is happening in the world to organizing revolutions to planning a day trip, social media has connected local and international communities like never before. History organizations can be intimidated by the number and variety of social media platforms available. Where do you start? How can history museums best navigate this constantly changing, super connected world? Join AASLH’s Hannah Hethmon for an intensive introduction to social media use at museums and historic sites. Whether you are just setting up your site’s accounts or have been using social media for years, this is a great chance to learn best practices and get new ideas.

Marketing is crucial for small museums and historic sites, but where do you begin? In this webinar, AASLH’s Hannah Hethmon will teach you, step by step, how to create a marketing plan tailored to your organization’s unique needs. A good marketing plan can help you more effectively allocated time and money, get approval for a marketing budget, keep you focused on high-priority goals, and ensure that your marketing objectives and methods are supporting your institutional mission.

Working through a series of prompts and questions, you will get a chance to see other organizations’ answers and get real-time pointers. At the end of the webinar, you will have the outline and notes you need to write your own marketing plan.

Facebook is used by over 100 million adult Americans every day and is the most popular social networking site in the US and the world. It’s important that museums and historic sites know how to effectively use this platform to increase awareness of their institution, further their mission, engage their audience online, and inspire new and existing audiences to visit. Join AASLH’s Hannah Hethmon for an in-depth look at Facebook for museums and historic sites. Topics covered will include:

Creating an appealing Facebook page for your organization

Growing your Facebook audience

Best practices for posting

Crafting engaging, mission-focused posts

Using Facebook Live, Events, Live, and other free features

Paid advertising and sponsored content on Facebook

Real examples of museums and historic sites that are using Facebook well

Today, Twitter is often the first place news breaks, the best way for strangers all over the world to discuss a similar interest, a direct connection to celebrities and politicians, and many more applications. How does your organization fit into the pictures? When used effectively, museums and historic sites can use Twitter to increase awareness of their institution, further their mission, engage their audience online, and inspire new and existing audiences to visit.

Ready to get started or improve your existing account? Join AASLH’s Hannah Hethmon for an in-depth lesson on Twitter for museums and historic sites. Topics covered will include:

Creating an appealing Twitter profile for your organization

Growing your Twitter audience

Best practices for posting and ideas for finding your organization’s Twitter voice

Storytelling on Twitter

Utilizing hashtags and participating in planned and impromptu hashtag conversations

Real examples of museums and historic sites that are using Twitter well

Instagram is a growing image-sharing platform where younger audiences (and older ones too) share everything from casual snapshots to professional photography and art. Increasingly, Instagram connects artists, photographers, and influences around shared locations, interests, and hobbies. Museums and historic sites are well-positioned to use Instagram to increase awareness of their institution, further their mission, engage their audience online, and inspire new and existing audiences to visit. In this webinar, AASLH’s Hannah Hethmon will give an in-depth lesson on Instagramming for your institution. Topics covered will include:

Creating an appealing Instagram profile for your institution

Growing your Instagram audience

Best practices for posting and tips on what to post

Communicating with images

How to connect with influential Instagrammers and host Instameets

Real examples of museums and historic sites that are using Instagram well

4 Comments

Tim Moseley

From: Hannah Hethmon // Museums in Strange Places Podcast To: timmdd@bellsouth.net Sent: Monday, February 19, 2018 3:07 PM Subject: [New post] Intro to Marketing and Social Media for Museums: Webinar Series #yiv2779079465 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv2779079465 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv2779079465 a.yiv2779079465primaryactionlink:link, #yiv2779079465 a.yiv2779079465primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv2779079465 a.yiv2779079465primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv2779079465 a.yiv2779079465primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv2779079465 WordPress.com | Hannah Hethmon posted: “This past spring and summer, I led a series of four webinars for AASLH on the basics of marketing and social media for museums and historic sites.It’s been a busy nine months for me (I moved to Europe!), and I am just now getting around to sharing the rec” | |